Category: Sewing Adventures

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Sewing Adventures

polka_dot_dress

This dress has been hanging round the “to finish” pile longer than I care to remember. I pulled it out over the weekend, attached the sleeves, added a centre back zip and ran some bias binding round the neck and it was done. It was so easy I was wondering why I had left it for so long?

I’ve used this Simplicity 2846 pattern before and it worked out well. Previously it was in a heavier weight wool herringbone which I got a lot of use out of throughout the winter time. This version is a cotton I took from mum’s stash some time ago. The polka dots are actually tiny little flocked spots. Which makes pressing an interesting challenge as to get the iron hot enough to get the cotton straight makes the polka dots come off!

It was while pressing that I discovered potentially why it had been in the “to finish” pile so long. I’d added the pockets before putting in the darts. I could even see some marks where I must’ve attempted the darts at some time? After a quick try on I decided if I added a belt then I don’t need to worry about the darts. I used my cummerbund style belt I got from Antipodium forever ago, which is not only supremely cute but incredibly comfy.

So how dd your weekend sewing go? get any pesky projects out of the way?

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Sewing Adventures

Big news for a Monday, I did zero sewing over the weekend. Yep that’s right none, nada, zero, zip.

So why after a weekend of no sewing does it feel so good?

Organisation.

With a new kitchen, the acquisition of yet more books and well just too much stuff, it was high time our tiny place got a much needed organise and clean.
Bookshelves were emptied and re organised, tubs of fabric were re stacked. Paperwork was filed (and more than just into piles labelled misc and other).

It was a big weekend of moving, shifting and getting things right. I probably need one more day of it and we can finally stop tripping over things.

What is possibly even more exciting is that my sewing table is now clear which means I could sew every night if I wanted to?

Now that really is a thrilling thought!

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Mini Obsession – coloured hair

It’s coming up to getting my hair done again. This is a very regular occurrence but I still love it. Ben my hairdresser is brilliant and I have been seeing him for years.

I’ve been almost every shade of blonde, pink, purple, lilac imaginable. I’ve been blue (looked fantastic till the first wash then was a weird dishwater colour?) I’ve been red which made me look far more like raggedy Anne than I care to. I’ve even had a flash of neon green.

I never decide what I’m getting done I just go in and relax and come out with amazing hair. But still these images have been providing some strong inspiration.

coloured hair

lilac hair, long pink hair, pink hair, mint hair

Promise to let you know what colour I come out this time!

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Sewing Adventures – cycling caps

Another Monday morning and we are well and truly into summer! This weekend was glorious long sunshine filled days and more than a little warm too.

Sewing wise I spent the entire weekend making and packing orders for Rocket Fuel. With it being practically peak cycling season it’s nice to see so many packages heading off to new homes.

rocketfuelsewing

I normally try and do all my orders during the week and then spend at least one day of the weekend doing some sewing for myself but sometimes there are extra orders. I like sewing the caps though, as I like to imagine the life they are going on to live.

A snappy wool might be destined for a Tweed Ride, a sturdy cotton with club colours might be bound for weekend races and a collection printed with nicknames are due for a lads weekend of cycling and camping in lieu of a bachelors party.

It’s fun to marry 2 of my big passions of sewing and cycling together.

Hope you all had a wonderful sewing filled weekend too?

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Summer dresses

Today is going to be a scorching 39 degrees Celsius here in Sydney.

So naturally I’ve been up early, put up heavy sunblock curtains on the windows that face the sun and had all the blinds pulled down low since the sun came up.

With a day packed filled with meetings I did my weights session early, got the washing out on the line and selected a cool cotton dress to wear.

Walking into the city I saw so many women dressed in the most simple and stunning dresses. A red patterned strapless maxi dress was paired with a cleverly tied lightweight cotton scarf to create the illusion of straps and offer some sun protection.

A mustard multi layer voile dress had a fitted bodice and a tightly gathered skirt and looked the picture of summer ease, as it was atop a mint green step through bicycle with a wicker basket on the front.

Even now on the train I can see a zip front navy sweetheart neckline dress with teeny tiny yellow flowers scattered across it, a simple shift in a Liberty style floral and I’m wearing my pink Cynthia Rowley.

Thank goodness for the ease and style of a nice dress, it really makes the heat easier to cope with.

Stay cool today and try and avoid the heat!

(Update: what I had thought was a simple shift in a Liberty style floral, actually had a front filled with inserted lace details. Pretty!).

Here are some fantastic summer dresses, photos by The Sartorialist

summer dress

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Sewing adventures

I thought each Monday morning it would be nice to have a bit of a recap on my weekly weekend sewing adventures.

simplicity 2178 measuretwicecutonce

This weekend I finished a project that has been on the almost done pile for quite some time.

It is a mushroom,white and lilac Japanese print cotton I picked up at Spotlight about 2 years ago. It’s super cute as there are little tiny birds in the print. The dress was a breeze to put together and I love love that all the Cynthia Rowley patterns have pockets in the dresses. I’m guessing that the bow will become slightly annoying to keep tying it each time I wear the dress and am toying with the idea of getting it right once and then just hand stitching it in place?

Despite being a breeze to put together it wasn’t until I went to photograph this dress that I realised I had made a mistake. I’ve added the zip to the non bow side. Getting in and out of it is a 2 person job! So last night I unpicked the zipper and will be installing it on the correct side today, thank goodness for a long weekend so I can finally finish this dress.